Pakistan says weapons secure

WASHINGTON - Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani assured President Barack Obama on Sunday that his government takes nuclear security seriously and has "appropriate safeguards" in place, the White House said.

Obama, in talks with Gilani on the eve of a global nuclear summit in Washington, "reasserted the importance of nuclear security, a priority he has reiterated for all countries," the White House said in a statement.

Nuclear non-proliferation experts say Pakistan's nuclear arsenal and stockpile of weapons-grade nuclear material is heavily guarded but the threat from Al-Qaida and the Taliban make the country one of the areas of greatest concern.